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Story 3

Coastal Ecosystems: Land, Water, and Sea

Dr. Gene Feldman Dr. Jenn Caselle Patrick Coronado Oceanographer Science Coordinator Engineer and Remote NASA/Goddard Space Partnership for Sensing Scientist Flight Center Interdisciplinary NASA Goddard Space Research Focus Studies of Coastal Flight Center Oceans How can satellite Research Focus images of the ocean be used to create Research Focus How can we best obtain and compare scientific models that will help us Where do the larvae of tropical and data from spaceborne and airborne measure, understand, and predict temperate reef fishes and marine instruments? How can these data help complex biological processes in the invertebrates travel, and how does this us understand our local environment? sea? affect their populations?

Team JASON Video Live Online Broadcast • Field Research: Doing Science • Current Events: Ocean Currents Use JASON XIV components to prepare Anywhere for the live broadcast. Visit Team JASON Online for the latest details. • Chat Sessions • Message Boards

In Story 3, you will learn about watersheds and how they affect ecosystems on the land and in the sea. Host researcher Gene Feldman of NASA will show you how images from orbiting satellites are helping biologists understand the ecological connections between land and sea around the Channel Islands. Host researcher Jenn Caselle will introduce you to an exciting new project in which scientists all along the Pacific coast are working together to gather information about coastal ecosystems. Finally host researcher Patrick Coronado will show you how aerial photography is helping scientists to visualize the Channel Islands ecosystem.

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Story 3

Coastal Ecosystems: Land, Water, and Sea

Research Article How Does the Land Meet the Ocean? ...... page 75 Exercise 3.1 Technology, Ecology 1½ hours (two 45-minute periods) Analyzing Data, Reading and Interpreting Maps Plumes and Blooms: Tree Rings of the Sea ...... page 79 Students will examine data on sediments and algae plumes collected by scientists and satellite photographs. They will then try to predict levels of chlorophyll and lithogenic silica based on colors in the satellite photographs.

Exercise 3.2 Biology, Physics, Chemistry 1½ hours (two 45-minute periods) Using Scientific Instruments How Does a Satellite Measure Phytoplankton in the Ocean? ...... page 82 Students will make observations of chlorophyll by eye and with a spectroscope, under conditions that demonstrate transmission, absorption, and fluorescence of light by the substance that satellites image when tracking ocean biomasses.

Exercise 3.3 Geography, Math, Ecology 1½ hours (two 45-minute periods) Analyzing Data Investigating Coastal Ecosystems ...... page 88 Students will analyze measurements made by scientists, then use what they have learned about ocean currents, nutrients, and marine plant and animal life to figure out where each set of measurements was taken.

Student Self-Assessment 45 minutes Analyzing Data, Reading and Interpreting Maps The Phytoplankton Bloom Challenge ...... page 91 Students will analyze two satellite images of the Channel Islands region and interpret their ecological significance.

hen you’re ready to conduct a local aquatic field study with your class, go to Team JASON Online and visit the “Field Research—Doing Science Anywhere” section. You’ll find pre-field exercises, tool building instructions, teacher prepa- W ration materials, and other aids for doing science in the filed.

“Our day-to-day lives influence Earth in ways and places that we have only just begun to appreciate . . . the ice in Antarctica, the water in the lake near your house, the clouds that pass overhead, and the vast expanse of the oceans are all connected.” —Dr. Gene Feldman, JASON host researcher

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LAND, WATER, AND SEA Story 3

❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ STANDARDS AND ASSESSMENT

Student Name:

National Education Standards Exercise

Science Standard A: Science As Inquiry Investigating Coastal Ecosystems Students should understand scientific inquiry and develop the abilities necessary to perform it.

Science Standard B: Physical Science Plumes and Blooms—Tree Rings of the Students should develop an understanding of properties and changes of properties in matter, Sea preparation motions and forces, and the transfer of energy.

Science Standard D: Earth and Space Science How Does a Satellite Measure Students should develop an understanding of the structure of the Earth system, Earth’s history, Phytoplankton in the Ocean? and the relationship of Earth to the rest of the solar system. Plumes and Blooms—Tree Rings of the Sea

Teacher Math Standard: Data Analysis and Probability Plumes and Blooms—Tree Rings of the Students should develop an understanding about how to collect, organize, display, and Sea interpret data. Investigating Coastal Ecosystems

Geography Standard 7: Physical Systems Plumes and Blooms—Tree Rings of the Students should understand the physical processes that shape the patterns of Earth’s surface. Sea Investigating Coastal Ecosystems

Performance Indicators: Plumes and Blooms—Tree Rings of the Sea Novice Apprentice Researcher

Plots locations of chlorophyll and lithogenic silica on map, based on data sets.

Compares the map to a satellite photograph.

Performance Indicators: How Does a Satellite Measure Phytoplankton in the Ocean? Novice Apprentice Researcher

Observes light absorption, transmission, and fluorescence of chlorophyll with the naked eye and through a spectroscope.

Understand how colors of light reach the eye. Understands why the eye “sees” different colors.

Performance Indicators: Investigating Coastal Ecosystems Novice Apprentice Researcher

Analyzes scientific measurements and draws conclusions as to where they were obtained, based on knowledge and deduction.

Student Self-Assessment: The Phytoplankton Challenge Skills: Analyzing Data, Reading and Interpreting Maps

Score

Multiple Choice Test—Team JASON Online at www.jasonproject.org

Teacher Notes:

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How Does the Land Meet the Ocean?

Focus questions What are watersheds? Land receives fresh water in the form of rain and melting snow and ice. A watershed is an area of land

What are watersheds and how do they link the Research land to the sea? that collects this water and drains it into a stream, river, or lake. Water may flow on top of the ground How and why do scientists monitor the into the streams or rivers, or it may first soak into the interaction between watersheds and marine ground and then flow toward the stream or river. environments? When it does the latter, it joins the groundwater—the water beneath Earth’s surface between saturated soil

When astronauts began to send back the first-ever and rock. article photographs of our entire planet, their astonishing Although watersheds can vary in size and other pictures changed many people’s perspective on Earth characteristics (such as slope, geology, and vegeta- forever. Images from space showed Earth as a tion), every watershed has three main components: network of interconnected ecosystems, covered • Boundaries: elevated land areas, such as mostly by water and protected from the cold vacuum ridges, hills, and mountains, that separate of space by a delicate-looking layer of atmosphere. At one watershed from another by causing the around the same time, people began paying increased water to flow to different drainage areas. attention to a basic question: how might changes in one ecosystem affect life in another? • Basin: the large area around rivers, streams, or tributaries. The basin directs the movement The Channel Islands area encompasses many impor- of water. tant ecosystems such as the Santa Barbara coastal watersheds and coastal and marine ecosystems. • Collection areas: the places to which the water JASON host researchers Gene Feldman and Jenn flows, such as lakes or seas. Caselle are helping us understand how these systems are connected to each other. These researchers’ meth- Why are watersheds important? ods include making and interpreting satellite images, Because fresh water is so important for drinking, studying aerial photographs, and taking field observa- farming, industry, and recreation, scientists and tions at monitoring stations on land, at the shoreline, engineers devote a lot of energy to understanding and in the ocean. and controlling watersheds. For example, Los Angeles does not have enough water in its own watersheds to serve its population. It could not exist at its present size if engineers had not found ways to bring water in from other watersheds. Moreover, it is not just water that travels through the watersheds. The water carries along all sorts of sediments, nutrients, pollutants, and pathogens that sit on and under the ground. By controlling the flow of water, watersheds also control how all these other substances move between ecosystems. The water that flows along our streets, and everything that that water carries with it, is ultimately headed for our beaches and shorelines.

Earth from space.

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How and why do scientists study the Santa Barbara watersheds? Through a long-term ecological research project (LTER), guest researcher Tim Robinson and a large team of scientists are studying and monitoring the watersheds and their effects on the coastal kelp forest. Another large scientific group, called the Partnership for Interdisciplinary Studies of Coastal Oceans (or

article PISCO), has many teams up and down the West Coast studying coastal ecosystems such as the intertidal and subtidal zones. As part of their work, Dr. Caselle’s team measures levels of nutrients, carbon, sediments, and pollutants at numerous monitoring This photograph of the Carpinteria watershed, just north of the stations along the inland creeks and streams, as well Channel Islands, shows the main elements of a typical watershed.

Research The hills are the boundaries separating the coastal watersheds from as at points in the ocean near the shore. They partic- those inland; the basin is formed by the folds in the hills where the ularly like to head out to the ocean and take meas- water collects before running into the streams, which send the water to the salt marsh and the sea. urements when major storms kick up, since that’s when watershed flushing is most extreme. How do watersheds affect the Channel What if no one pays attention to what is happening Islands? in an area’s watershed? Scientists point to one Coastal Santa Barbara County has seven major creeks answer, just south of the Santa Barbara Channel, in and streams, like the ones you see in the picture Santa Monica Bay. A lack of monitoring and manage- above. These drain the inland watersheds. Four hun- ment in previous years has resulted in serious dred thousand people live in Santa Barbara County; pollution problems there. During and after storms, their daily activities have a direct effect on the quality stormwater runoff containing petroleum residues, of the water that is carried to the shoreline ecosys- bacteria, and fertilizers has seriously affected the tems from the watersheds. The steep coastal hills area’s marshes and beaches. cause a flushing effect during heavy rains and storms, sending large amounts of water from the watersheds to the coast. Typically, winter rains wash large amounts of sediment into the near-shore waters surrounding the Channel Islands. Over the next few months, microscopic plants called phytoplankton absorb much of the nutrients contained in the sediment and start rapidly reproducing. By the summer, there can be so much plankton in the water that they form large green “blooms” visible from space! Phytoplankton are at the center of the food web in the near-shore community and beyond. The effects of the phytoplankton blooms on all the different life forms in the ocean are widespread and complex. By closely monitoring sediment and nutrient levels, scientists hope to be able to make accurate predictions about the size and distri- bution of phytoplankton blooms, and then about the effects that the blooms will have on the Channel A radar image of Santa Cruz Island taken from the space shuttle Islands’ other plants and animals. Endeavour in 1994.

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What is the “Plumes and Blooms” How and Why Do Scientists Work project? at Different Scales? “Plumes and Blooms” is a marine research program organized by the Channel Islands National Marine In order to answer complex questions about the Sanctuary. It studies both “plumes” of nutrient-rich environment, scientists need to make observations sediment that wash into the ocean from watersheds at different scales. The nine images below illustrate and the green “blooms” of chlorophyll-rich phyto- the idea of scale (relative size). They show a series Research plankton that develop shortly thereafter. Satellite of views of Earth. The first view is from about cameras can distinguish chlorophyll from other sub- 56,000 kilometers (35,000 miles) out in space; it is stances because of the very distinctive way it absorbs the kind of view the Apollo astronauts might have some colors of the spectrum but not others (see had through a normal camera and lens on their Exercise 3.2 for more details). way to the moon. The next is from 5,600 kilome-

ters (3,500 miles), and the third is from 560 kilo- article Dr. Gene Feldman and the members of the Plumes meters (350 miles). Reducing the scale by and Blooms team carefully analyze satellite images of nine-tenths with each picture, we rapidly the ocean colors in the Santa Barbara Channel. Many approach our target, a beach on Anacapa. The sev- of these images come from a NASA satellite mission enth picture is from about 56 meters (185 feet) called SeaWiFS. (That’s short for Sea-Viewing Wide- away, and the ninth is from 56 centimeters (22 Field-of-View Sensor.) From the images, they make inches). Think about what the twelfth picture indirect measurements of the ocean’s surface temper- would look like, or the fifteenth. What kinds of ature and chlorophyll levels, as well as how the scientist work at scales this large and this small? ocean’s surface reflects light. Meanwhile, other scientists from U.C. Santa Barbara and Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary go out to sea and take Groundtruthing is the only way that scientists can direct measurements of the same things. When the verify and improve the accuracy of their interpreta- two groups of scientists compare their two data sets tions of satellite measurements. (indirect and direct), it’s called groundtruthing.

The Channel Islands at different scales.

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What plans do watershed scientists More broadly, host researchers Gene Feldman and have for the future? Jenn Caselle seek to deepen our understanding of The Plumes and Blooms team hopes to develop a coastal ecosystems. Through their efforts and those scientific model, based on satellite images, that will of their colleagues, we are gaining detailed knowl- provide accurate information about what is going on edge about how natural and human-caused events in the ocean. This would provide far more informa- affect the web of life in these areas. This knowledge tion than is currently available with direct measure- will help us to conserve and enjoy our coasts, now ments, because taking direct measurements over large and in the future.

article stretches of ocean takes a long time and cannot be done at certain times, such as during the most severe storms.

Journal Question Fact or Fallacy? Research What are the boundaries and characteris- Pet owners are responsible for a large tics of the watersheds in your area, and part of the bacterial pollution in the

what are the important ways that people Santa Barbara watersheds.

in your area are having impacts on the problem. this of cause major a is properly waste

watersheds? the of dispose and pets after up pick to Failure fall. rains ried through the Santa Barbara watersheds when heavy when watersheds Barbara Santa the through ried

Dog waste is a major contributor to the pollution car- pollution the to contributor major a is waste Dog Fact:

Vocabulary Chlorophyll n. The green pigment in the cells Pollutant n. A waste material that contaminates of many plants that enables them to use sunlight to air, water, or soil. convert carbon dioxide and water into carbohy- Scientific model n. A detailed mathematical drates in the process called photosynthesis. description of the cause-and-effect relationships Ecosystem n. A community of plants and/or between events that can be used to predict or animals and its physical environment, regarded as a explain other such events. unit. Sediment n. Fine-grained solid material that Groundtruthing v. Verifying assessments sinks to the bottom of a liquid, especially a body of made from satellite data by doing direct, “on-the- water in nature. Sediment can contain a high level ground” measurements. of lithogenic silica (LSi), which is silica coming from rock. Intertidal zone n. The region of a shore that is covered at high tide and exposed at low tide. Stormwater runoff n. Water that flows across watersheds during and immediately after Nutrient n. An ingredient in a food or other severe rainstorms. In populated areas, stormwater substance that nourishes or promotes growth. runoff is often water that cannot be handled by Pathogen n. A disease-causing organism or existing sewer systems. Stormwater runoff is the entity, such as a bacterium or virus. leading source of water pollution in the United Phytoplankton n. Microscopic floating plants States. that perform photosynthesis and provide many of Watershed n. The region draining into a river, the nutrients for life in the ocean. A basic element river system, or other body of water. of the oceanic food web.

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Plumes and Blooms: Tree Rings of the Sea

Each year, winter rains wash sediment into the Santa tells you which color to use to represent particu- Barbara Channel. During the spring and summer, lar levels of chlorophyll and LSi on the map. tiny phytoplankton increase their populations dra- 4. On the satellite images, each X marks a point in matically and provide the primary energy source for the water where the boat stopped and chloro- the entire marine food web. The phytoplankton even- phyll and LSi were measured. Each X is inside a tually die and settle to the bottom. These events region that appeared a certain color in that day’s create an alternating pattern of brown terrestrial sedi- satellite image. The colors for every region are a ments and green marine algae in the sediments. This mixture of brown and green. The darkness of pattern is like a “tree ring” structure. It provides sci- each color depends on how much sediment and entists with a historical record of important inland phytoplankton are in the water in that region. events, such as abnormal rainfall and forest fires, that can affect commercial fishing and populations of Hint: For easier coloring, draw green lines to the marine animals in general. left for the chlorophyll and brown lines to the right for LSi. Focus questions 5. Using the latitude and longitude for each X on How can you tell the difference on a satellite the map, match each data point with its latitude Exercise 3.1 image between a sediment plume and an algal and longitude. bloom? 6. Start by looking at the map and numbers for Data Set 1. Using your color scale, and the data col- Materials lected at each X, decide what mixture of brown and green to color each region. For each student 7. Repeat this for Data Set 2. Copy of Master A (plumes and blooms introduction) Conclusion Copy of Master B (two blumes and plumes) Does each set of data represent a phytoplankton bloom or a sediment plume? When do you think the Map colors or crayons measurements were made for each data set: summer Procedure or winter? 1. Read Master A to learn about two methods for studying ocean contents. Learn about plumes and blooms and how scientists study them. 2. Now, look at the charts and maps on Master B. They show two sets of data collected on two Plumes and Blooms research cruises, along with patterns for the satellite images of the Channel Islands for the same days. Notice that the satellite images have no color. Your job is to color them correctly. Follow steps 3 through 7 to find out how. 3. First look at the color scale. Chlorophyll and LSi are both measured on a scale of 1 to 100. Higher numbers for chlorophyll and LSi mean more of those materials are in the water. The color scale

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Plumes and Blooms Introduction

Scientists taking measurements for the Plumes and Blooms project lower their instruments into the ocean.

What is a plume and what is a bloom? Each year, winter rains wash sand, mud, and nutrients into the Santa Barbara Channel. As these brown sediments enter the ocean, they spread, forming feather-shaped patterns called plumes. Over time, the sediments sink to the bottom, forming a layer of brown silt on the ocean floor. When summer brings more warmth and light, tiny, single-celled plants called phytoplankton absorb the sediment nutrients in the water and flourish. These large masses of green marine algae are called blooms. The plumes of sediment contain large amounts of lithogenic silica, or LSi (“lithogenic” means “from rock”); the blooms of algae contain chlorophyll. Scientists can measure the amounts of these two substances in the water to determine how much sediment and how much algae is present. Groundtruthing Plumes and blooms are different colors in satellite images. But, to read the satellite images accurately, scientists still need to figure out exactly what levels of brown and green color correspond to what levels of sediment and phytoplankton. To do this, scientists make a detailed analysis of ocean colors in satellite pictures. They then compare their satellite readings of chlorophyll and LSi with measurements made at sample points in the same part of the sea they looked at on the satellite photos. Measuring in the water vs. measuring with a satellite Groundtruthing enables scientists to interpret satellite pictures more accurately—but if scientists can make very accurate surface measurements of LSi and chlorophyll, why do they need satellite measurements at all? Because satellite images can give scientists the big picture. It would take years for a boat to travel around taking LSi and chlorophyll measurements for an area that a satellite could image in a matter of seconds. Master A

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Two Plumes and Blooms Ocean Color Maps and Cruise Data Sets

Color Scale

LSi 0–33 34–66 67–100 Light brown Medium brown Dark brown Chlorophyll 0–33 34–66 67–100 Light green Medium green Dark green

Data Set 1: Satellite Image Data Set 1 LSi (Sediment) Chlorophyll Latitude Longitude Level Level (Scale of (Scale of 1–100) 1–100) 34º 22' N 119º 50' W 79 15

34º 19' N 119º 52' W 63 18

34º 16' N 119º 53' W 70 14

34º 13' N 119º 54' W 94 15

34º 09' N 119º 56' W 85 33

34º 04' N 120º 02' W 51 13

34º 03' N 120º 04' W 100 22

Data Set 2: Satellite Image Data Set 2 LSi (Sediment) Chlorophyll Latitude Longitude Level Level (Scale of (Scale of 1–100) 1–100) 34º 23' N 119º 50' W 13 28

34º 20' N 119º 51' W 21 83 Master B 34º 18' N 119º 52' W 27 60

34º 15' N 119º 54' W 17 79

34º 12' N 119º 55' W 16 50

34º 09' N 119º 56' W 17 100

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How Does a Satellite Measure Phytoplankton in the Ocean? Tiny phytoplankton can make a big difference Procedure in ocean color if present in large enough numbers. 1. Read Master C. In this exercise, you will take a closer look at how the green chlorophyll in phytoplankton makes ocean 2. Your teacher will give you a vial half-filled with water green. You will use an instrument called a chlorophyll. Add an amount of water equal to the spectroscope to examine the special way a satellite amount of chlorophyll you received. “sees” the color of the ocean. 3. Hold the vial of chlorophyll between your eye and the light. What color do you see? Focus questions 4. Make a light shield by cutting a slit in the card- 1 board about 5 millimeters ( /5 inch) wide and as What is light? tall as the small container of chlorophyll. What is the electromagnetic spectrum? 5. Tape the light shield to the lamp so that light only comes through the slit. In a dark room, hold How do scientists use these principles to map the vial of chlorophyll between your eye and the plant life in the ocean? light, so that light coming through the slit hits the vial. 6. What color do you see? (You should see green, Materials because chlorophyll absorbs part of the colors in For each group the white light and transmits green light. But Copy of Master C (light and its spectrum) what colors are absorbed?) Vial of chlorophyll 7. With the spectroscope built by your teacher (or Exercise 3.2 8½-inch by 11-inch piece of cardboard that you build yourself—see Masters D and E), look at the light coming through the slit in the Pre-finished spectroscope or: light shield. Which colors do you observe in the Copy of Master D (spectroscope scale of the spectroscope? construction instructions) 8. Now put your sample in front of the slit in the Copy of Master E (spectroscope pattern) light shield, and look at the light again with the spectroscope. Put the sample back in the light Materials for building spectroscope and take it away several times. (listed on Master D) 9. Do you notice a difference in the spectrum when Note: You will need to purchase you look at the light with and without the sample materials to build the spectroscope. between the spectroscope and the lamp? For the entire class Conclusion Lamp 1. Discuss with the class why you see different colors when you view the chlorophyll under different conditions. 2. What determines the color of an object?

NOTE: Do not use the sun as a light source! The spectroscope is not a filter and will not ! protect your eyes from damage.

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Light and Its Spectrum

What Is Light? Most man-made lights and sunlight give off white light. White light is actually made up of electromagnetic waves of different wavelengths—and thus different colors. Each color has a specific wavelength. Blue light has a short wavelength, green light has a medium wavelength, and red light has a long wavelength.

Visible Light Region of the Electromagnetic Spectrum

680 nm 550 nm 475 nm 410 nm

Infrared Red/ Green Blue Violet Ultraviolet Orange

nm = nanometers = one-billionth of a meter

Why are phytoplankton green and how do they make the ocean green? When white light hits the surface of an object, the different colors in it can be reflected or absorbed. The object appears to be the color that is reflected, because the reflected light is what our eyes perceive. For example, chlorophyll is green because it absorbs red and blue light and reflects green light. Phytoplankton—like all green plants—use chlorophyll to capture light from the sun and, through photosynthesis, to transform sunlight into carbohydrates. Although each phytoplankton plant is tiny, when they bloom by the billions phytoplankton cause changes in the ocean’s color that can be measured from space. This makes phytoplankton the most important single influence on ocean color over most of the world. What are spectroscopes and spectrophotometers and how do satellites use them to measure ocean color? Since satellites can’t “see” the colors red, blue, and green like a human can, they measure the wavelength of the light that comes off the ocean after interacting with the phytoplankton. In this experiment, you will use a spectroscope. This is an instrument that can show what wavelengths of light are present in a particular light source. Satellites use an instrument similar to a spectroscope called a spectrophotometer. A spectrophotometer “divides” light into wavelengths, like a spectroscope, but it also measures the intensity of those wavelengths: how much of each wavelength is present in the light being measured. Master C

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Spectroscope Construction Instructions

Materials 11-inch by 17-inch spectroscope template sheet 11-inch by 17-inch black card stock (regular bristol/poster board from a drug store or art supply store) Diffraction grating Scissors Straight edge (used to bend cardboard— straight table edges will work) Clear tape Glue stick Instructions Body 1. BEFORE GLUING: Cut out the numbered scale from the template. 2. Glue the template onto the piece of black cardboard and let it dry. 3. Cut along the solid lines to separate the four pieces of the spectroscope: the spectroscope body, the slit half, the eyepiece, and the scale cover. (Keep the two pieces marked “spacer”: you’ll use them later.) When you cut out the notches on the spectroscope body, make sure to cut up to the dashed lines but not beyond. 4. Cut out the circular hole in the eyepiece. 5. With the template side up, fold down along all of the dashed lines on the spectroscope body (there are 12 folds). It is important to make crisp folds along the dashed lines, making the spectroscope “light-tight.” Use a ruler or the edge of a table to guide the folds. If the cardboard is very thick, score the cardboard side with the scissors before folding it. Position a ruler on the cardboard side of each dashed line and run one blade of the scissors along the ruler to score the cardboard. 7. Close the spectroscope body by folding flap A over flap B. Make sure that the corners are lined up properly and tape the long flaps. Be sure to tape the flaps near both ends and in the middle. 8. Hold the spectroscope, looking at the narrow end. Fold down the small flaps to form a square. Take care to make the flaps as square as possible and tape down all four corners. Place tape diagonally across each corner. 9. At the wide end of the spectroscope, fold down the three small flaps to form three sides of a square and tape the two corners of the double-walled side as you did at the narrow end. 10. Fold down the small flap at the opposite side of the wide end of the spectroscope, then fold down the two long flaps so that the longest flap is on top. While making sure the three sides are as square as possible, tape down the corners between the long flaps and the short flap. 11. Make sure the vertical edge of the longer flap is straight and clean. If it is uneven, trim it slightly. 12. Hold down the longer flap so it bends along the spectroscope body. Tape it to the top and bottom of the spectroscope on both sides of the dashed line. DO NOT PUT TAPE ALONG THE VERTICAL EDGES. Master D

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Slit, Grating, and Eyepiece 1. Place the slit half next to the vertical edge of the long flap. Slip the pieces of cardboard marked “spacer” 1 between the rectangle and the flap edge to produce a slit about 2 millimeters ( /16 inch) wide. When the rectangle is in place, tape down the top and bottom. DO NOT ALLOW TAPE TO COVER THE SLIT: the slit is how light will get into the spectroscope. 2. Holding the diffraction grating by the cardboard frame, position it over the square opening at the narrow end of the scope. Make sure the text at the bottom of the slide’s frame is lined up right: if the spectroscope is lying flat with the narrow end facing you, and the open side is on your left, the text on the frame should be at the bottom, facing out. Apply tape to the frame to fasten the grating onto the spectroscope. DO NOT PLACE TAPE OVER THE GRATING. DO NOT TOUCH THE GRATING. 3. Place the square eyepiece over the grating so the hole is centered over the grating. Tape the eyepiece onto the spectroscope. (This eyepiece protects the grating so only a small part of it is exposed.) Spectrum Scale and Calibration 1. Place the spectrum scale over the rectangular window next to the spectroscope slit. 2. Point the slit of the spectroscope at a fluorescent light and look through the eyepiece AT THE SCALE. You should see a number of colored lines. These are the spectral lines from the fluorescent tube. This will demonstrate that your spectroscope is working! If the spectral lines appear above the slit instead of over the scale, rotate the diffraction grating a quarter turn. 3. To calibrate the scope, slide the scale until the dotted vertical line (at 5450 on the scale) is lined up with the GREEN line of the spectrum from the fluorescent light. Apply a piece of tape to secure the scale in this position. (It may be easier if you have someone else apply the tape while you hold the scale in place.) After the scale is fixed in the right position, tape down all four edges of the scale. 4. Position the scale cover on the outside of the box to completely cover the scale. Apply a piece of tape along the top of the rectangle to act as a hinged door. This will darken the scale cover to make the fainter spectral lines visible: lift it to read the scale. NEVER POINT THE SPECTROSCOPE AT THE SUN. IT IS NOT A FILTER AND WILL NOT PROTECT YOUR EYES! Template and instructions courtesy of Stanford SOLAR Center (solar-center.stanford.edu). Master D

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LAND, WATER, AND SEA Story 3

Investigating Coastal Ecosystems

Throughout this unit, you have seen how scientists monitor changes in the environment to see how dif- b. Consider the season in which the water is ferent parts of the coastal ecosystem affect each other. warmest at both stations. Why do you think In this exercise, you will analyze coastal measure- the water is warmest then (rather than in ments made by Dr. Jenn Caselle and other members another season)? of the research group called Partnership for Interdisciplinary Studies of Coastal Oceans (PISCO). c. How do nutrient levels change over time at As an “eco-detective,” you will use what you have Station 1? At Station 2? Overall, are there more learned about ocean currents, nutrients, and marine nutrients in the water at Station 1 or 2? In plant and animal life to figure out where each set of which seasons is the water most nutrient-rich? measurements was taken. d. Since all marine plants contain chlorophyll, chlorophyll levels in the water tell you how Focus questions much plant life exists in the area. Is there generally more chlorophyll in the water at Station How do physical properties of the ocean such 1 or Station 2? Using the available data, try to as currents, winds, and temperature affect explain how nutrient levels affect plant growth marine plant and animal species? in the water. 4. Based on your analysis of the map and the two Materials data tables, decide which station is south of Point Conception and which is north of the point. For each student Label them on Map 3. Copy of Master F (investigating coastal ecosystems) Conclusion Exercise 3.3 Copy of Master G (census of ocean communities) 1. Consider the amounts of nutrients and chlorophyll measured at the two stations. Where would Copy of JASON XIV Atlas Map 3 (currents and you expect more plant and animal life? sea surface temperature) 2. Read Master G. Is living material more abundant Procedure at Station 1 or Station 2? Does this confirm or refute your expectations? 1. Read the background material in Master F. 3. Compare the two pie charts and answer the 2. Also in Master F, take a look at the measure- following questions (in writing): ments that Dr. Caselle and her colleagues have taken at two different sampling stations. Now a. Which categories are similarly abundant at look at Map 3 from the JASON Atlas. Your job both stations? (That is, which categories have will be to figure out which of the two “dots” on similar size “pie slices” in the two charts?) the map is Station 1 and which is Station 2. b. Which categories are significantly different in 3. In written sentences, answer the following ques- abundance? tions about the data from the two stations: c. Using the pie chart data along with what you a. How do water temperatures change over time know about temperature, nutrient levels, and at Station 1? At Station 2? Overall, is the water chlorophyll levels at the two stations, write a warmer at Station 1 or 2? In which season is paragraph that compares and contrasts the the water the warmest? marine ecosystems at the two monitoring stations.

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Story 3 LAND, WATER, AND SEA

Investigating Coastal Ecosystems

The California Current runs from north to south along the California coast, creating a cold-water marine environment. South of Point Conception, though, the coastline bends to the east, away from the California Current. There, warmer currents flow into the gap between the California Current and the coastline (see Map 3 in the JASON Atlas). An important factor controlling the nutrient level of the water along the coast is the process of upwelling. This is the vertical flow of nutrient-rich colder water from lower depths of the ocean toward the surface, where it replaces warmer water that has fewer nutrients. Local upwelling is caused by seasonal ocean winds, so the amount of upwelling varies somewhat throughout the year. In the Channel Islands area, the largest centers of upwelling are north of Point Conception. Both of these factors—the local areas of upwelling and the mixing of warm and cold currents—create a highly varied marine environment around the Channel Islands. Nutrient levels and temperature can be very different from one small area to the next. Different water temperatures attract different species of marine life. Varying nutrient levels affect the growth of marine plants, from the enormous kelp to the microscopic algae. Marine plants are important to the ecosystems of the Channel Islands and the California coast because they feed many kinds of animals that live in the area.

PISCO Sea Surface Nutrients Chlorophyll Station 1 Temperature (ºC) (Milligrams per Liter) (Micrograms per Liter)

Spring 16.83 4.44 1.37 Summer 19.17 0.55 1.55 Fall 20.37 1.00 1.44 Winter 16.42 2.15 1.45

PISCO Sea Surface Nutrients Chlorophyll Station 2 Temperature (ºC) (Milligrams per Liter) (Micrograms per Liter)

Spring 12.80 11.26 3.56 Summer 14.72 5.41 2.46 Fall 17.12 3.31 4.78 Winter 15.24 6.49 0.71 Master F

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LAND, WATER, AND SEA Story 3

A Census of Ocean Communities

In addition to taking the kinds of measurements that you’ve already read about (temperature, nutrient, and chlorophyll levels), Dr. Caselle and her colleagues visit intertidal areas of the ocean coast to see what’s living there! In intertidal areas, the ground is sometimes covered by water (when tides are in) and sometimes exposed to the air (when tides are out). The scientists record the abundance of the different marine plants and animals that cover the ground at each site, like mussels, snails, slugs, worms, and algae. They also record the amount of area that is only covered with non-living materials like rocks, sand, sediment, and crushed shells (scientists call this “substrate”). They then calculate the percent of the ground of the intertidal area that is bare substrate, and the percent that is covered by animals and plants. Here are their results for two different monitoring stations:

What's Covering the Coast at Station 1? What's Covering the Coast at Station 2? (Percent Cover) (Percent Cover)

Other Mussels invertebrates Substrate 10% 8% 19%

Other invertebrates Algae Substrate 10% 37% 53% Algae 61%

Mussels 2% Master G Master G

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GPS SHOW WHAT YOU KNOW!

The Phytoplankton Bloom Challenge Skills: Analyzing Data, Reading Maps

Your Challenge Self You are a researcher, examining a sequence of maps that contain information about the seasonal abun- assessment dance of green marine algae suspended in the surface waters of the Channel Islands region. It is your job to identify and describe how the time of year influences the size of phytoplankton blooms in the area. How do phytoplankton affect the availability of food in the area? Words, Words, Words Think about these vocabulary words as you work: chlorophyll, phytoplankton, plumes, blooms. Helpful Hints 1. Look at the darker shades on the map of phytoplankton. In which month do they seem more abundant? 2. What factors might explain the differences in chlorophyll concentrations between February and April? 3. Why is it important to use satellite imagery to understand phytoplankton blooms? Assess Your Work Use this chart to assess your own work. Skills and Steps Yes No Not Sure Answered questions about the two maps. Identified clues.

Conclusion What clues did you use to identify how the time of the year influences the phytoplankton bloom?

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TEACHER LINKS 3

Mathematics Links Novel Links Use Technology in Making Measurements. 20,000 Leagues under the Sea. Have students measure distances to and heights Phosphorescence is observed by the crew of objects by bouncing sonar or infrared radar of the Nautilus. Can phosphorescence be beams off them using a CBL motion detector and a graph- observed from space?How? What does it indicate? The ing calculator (or other classroom technology, e.g. dis- author comments on how far the crew can see into the tance probe attached to handheld PDA). To find the ocean. Relate the ocean’s transparency to light penetra- distance between objects or differences in two objects’ tion, sediments, and other factors height, students can take the distance measurements of Island of the Blue Dolphins. Comment on the importance both and then subtract one from the other. This mimics of springs to Karana’s survival. Consider the multitude of satellite measurement of distance and height. sources of water Karana has on the island. Why does she Language Arts Links have to vary her sources? What are the problems with each one? Writing a Research Plan. On the top half of a The Voyage of the Frog. David describes the blueness of piece of paper, have students write what they the ocean. What does that color tell us about the ocean area know about their own watershed based on their he was viewing? investigations in Story 3. On the bottom half, have them The Case of the Missing Cutthroats. Obtain a map of the write what more they would like to know. If necessary, novel’s setting. Find the Snake River. Trace all the tributar- prompt them with questions like: Where does your drink- ies of the Snake River to discover the river’s watershed. ing water come from? What are possible sources of con- taminants? Then have them choose one question and Zia. What are the sources of drinking and farming water develop a research plan to answer it. Encourage them to for the mission?How does Zia collect and contain the look at how JASON host researchers approach their water she uses? Is water an issue that affects the success research questions. If time allows, have them pursue their of Stone Hand’s group? Find evidence and debate. research to share with the class. Post the questions and Web Links answers on the Team JASON Online Message Board. www.lternet.edu General site for the U.S. Arts Links Long Term Ecological Research Network. Dance. Have students perform a creative sbc.lternet.edu Site for the Santa Barbara Coastal Ecosystem Project, part of the LTER Network. preparation movement exercise that demonstrates how the water cycle interacts with watersheds in the seawifs.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEAWIFS/TEACHERS/ Satellite Channel Islands. Assign different students to play the images of Earth and SeaWiFS material by Gene Feldman. parts of clouds, rain, and other parts of the water cycle. www.piscoweb.org Site of PISCO; contains a slide show For example, students playing clouds could dance in a and explanatory materials. circle around students playing rain, until they suddenly let www.csupomona.edu/~sagarver/oceans/scmi_talk.ppt Teacher them go. Melting snow and ice could slowly “wake up” Downloadable Microsoft PowerPoint™ slide show about under a hot sun and begin to move and tumble downhill to SeaWiFS imagery, 3.1Mb. gather into streams, lakes, and oceans. To add to the www.cinms.nos.noaa.gov/pcw2/index.html Online story, you might want to have some students play sedi- “Plumes and Blooms” activity. ments, nutrients, or pollutants mixed in with the “pure” rain. They can then help form algal blooms or sediment plumes. Let students come up with ideas for their own choreography, choose some expressive music like Vivaldi’s Four Seasons or a Beethoven symphony, and perform for parents or a school assembly!

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TEACHER LINKS 3

Technology Links tify several local features. Using a Global Positioning For Exercise 3.1, have students use a graphing System receiver to determine the location of those fea- calculator or spreadsheet/graphing software tures, have students compare the accuracy of the photo with available classroom technology to plot and a detailed map. Starting at one local feature, navigate graphs of chlorophyll and sediment data. to unknown features on the photo and identify them. (For Groundtruthing. Find an aerial photograph of your school aerial images of much of the U.S., visit or aquatic field study site with sufficient resolution to iden- terraserver.homeadvisor.msn.com.

Teacher Preparation 3.1 Materials Plumes and Blooms: 1 small clear glass container for each student (test tube, bottle, or baby food jar with label Tree Rings of the Sea completely cleaned off) 2 large containers 2 cups fresh spinach leaves 300 milliliters Filter (paper towel rubbing alcohol or coffee filter) Time Required 1½ hours (two 45-minute periods) Additional Preparation Preparation of the chlorophyll Level of Complexity Do this ahead of time or have students do it. Medium 1. Wash the spinach and place it in the large Additional Preparation container. None. 2. Pour enough rubbing alcohol in the container to cover the spinach. Answers to Questions Teacher Conclusion questions 3. After 3 days, stir the contents thoroughly to get all of the material off the bottom. 1,2.A comparison of the values of LSi and chlorophyll in the two data sets identifies Data Set 1 as 4. Pour the mixture through a filter into another a plume (more LSi of terrestrial origin) and Data container to drain off the larger particles and obtain the chlorophyll extract. Squeeze the leaves Set 2 as a bloom (more chlorophyll than LSi). preparation Therefore Data Set 1 was likely obtained in the in the filter to obtain all the liquid. winter, and Data Set 2 in the summer. 5. Each student should get a small glass container of chlorophyll. Teacher Preparation 3.2 Spectroscopes How Does a Satellite Measure You will need a spectroscope to complete this activ- Phytoplankton in the Ocean? ity. A template and instructions for building one are provided in Masters D and E. You can also buy spectoscopes from Carolina Biological. Visit their online catalog at Time Required https://www3.carolina.com/onlinecatalog or call 1½ hours (two 45-minute periods) their Customer Service Department at 800-334-5551. Level of Complexity Medium

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LAND, WATER, AND SEA Story 3

Answers to Questions up” solar energy throughout the summer and Procedure questions reaches its peak temperature in the fall, when 7. A normal incandescent light bulb produces a full heat loss first begins to exceed the solar input. spectrum. Students should see a series of bands 3c. At Station 1, the nutrient levels are lowest in the with all the colors of the rainbow. summer. At Station 2, the nutrient “slump” 9. When the sample is in the path of the light, the happens a little later (in the fall). At both stations, red and blue wavelengths are no longer visible in nutrient levels start to climb in the fall and reach the spectroscope. This is because the chlorophyll their peak in spring. Overall, there are more absorbs those wavelengths from the incoming nutrients in the water at Station 2. light. The green part of the spectrum is not 3d. There is generally (but not always) more chloro- absorbed, and is still visible. phyll in the water at Station 2 than at Station 1: Station 2 has higher nutrient levels. Conclusion questions 2. The color of an object is determined by the 4. Station 1 is south of Point Conception. It has wavelengths of the visible light it reflects. warmer water because it is not in the California Current. It has lower nutrient and chlorophyll When illuminated by a source of white light, levels than Station 2 because it is further away such as the sun or an incandescent light bulb, an from the upwelling center at Point Conception. object may absorb some visible wavelengths and reflect others. The combination of wavelengths Conclusion questions reflected and not absorbed by the object deter- 1,2. Answers may vary. In the ocean surrounding the mines the color we perceive. Channel Islands, there is a greater abundance of Teacher Preparation 3.3 life in the region with more nutrients (around Station 2). This is shown by the lower abundance A Census of Ocean Communities of substrate (“dead” areas of the sea floor without anything growing on them). 3. From Station 1 to Station 2, there is a very dra- matic (five-fold) increase in the abundance of Time Required mussels. There is also a major (two-fold) increase 1½ hours (two 45-minute periods) in the abundance of the dominant cover organism: algae. The abundance of other invertebrates Level of Complexity remains about the same between the two stations. preparation Medium Advanced Concept: Additional Preparation Chlorophyll Fluorescence None Fill the bottom of an Erlenmeyer flask with the Answers to Questions chlorophyll extract. Go out in the sunlight, or use Teacher Procedure questions a powerful lamp, and hold a chlorophyll sample 3a. At both stations, the water is warmest in the below eye level, so that you are looking at its sur- fall and then starts cooling off in the winter. face from above. The surface of the chlorophyll At Station 1, the water starts warming up in should appear crimson, not green. This is because the spring. At Station 2, the water doesn’t start the chlorophyll cannot use the light energy it has warming up again until the summer. The water absorbed, as it usually would in a living cell in is warmer, overall, at Station 1. the process of photosynthesis. The chlorophyll is re-emitting (fluorescing) the light it absorbed, 3b. The key is that since it takes a long time for the since it cannot do anything with the energy and ocean to warm up or cool off, it isn’t always the the energy has to go somewhere. same temperature as the air. The water “stores

94 Story 3 Coastal Ecosystems